The Civil Rights Vigil at the 1964
Democratic Convention

The
1964 Democratic Convention was seen by the civil rights movement as an
opportunity to highlight the undemocratic exclusion of African-Americans
from voting and participation in the political process. During the summer,
several hundred young people had converged on Mississippi to register
local blacks to vote. Three civil rights workers were killed in June by
members of the Ku Klux Klan. The Freedom Democratic Party of Mississippi
was founded on April 26, 1964, as part of the voter registration drive.
Mississippi blacks had tried to attend regular Democratic Party precinct
and county meetings. When denied admittance, they formed the FDP and ran
candidates for Senate and three Congressional seats in the June 2 primary
election.

In August, the FDP challenged the right of the regular party to seat its
all-white delegation at the national Democratic convention, held in Atlantic
City, New Jersey. The credentials committee heard the FDP challenge, then
voted to accept a compromise proposed by Minnesota Senator Hubert H. Humphrey
after much behind-the-scenes arm-twisting by President Johnson's campaign
operatives. This gave the FDP two at-large votes and gave the regulars
all of Mississippi's 24 votes, provided that each delegate sign a written
pledge to back the national ticket.

Supporters of the FDP came to Atlantic City from all over the country
to lobby for its recognition. They held a continuous vigil outside the
convention hall, occassionally taking time off to sleep in the pews of
local churches.

Although the credentials committee recommendation was approved by a voice
vote at the convention, neither the regulars nor the FDP were satisfied.
Only four regulars signed the loyalty pledge; the rest went home. The
FDP borrowed delegate credentials from friends in other states and sat
in the vacant seats assigned to Mississippi. However, Johnson was nominated
by acclamation, without a vote, so none of the Mississippi votes were
actually cast by anyone.

Although the FDP felt defeated, its presence publicized the exclusion
of blacks from the electorate and the Mississippi party. By 1968 the rules
were changed to prohibit racial discrimination; a racially integrated
delegation replaced the all-white regulars at the Democratic convention.

Photos of the civil rights vigil
at the
1964 Democratic Convention by Jo Freeman

Please click on thumbnails to view the complete
image

Rain or shine, supporters of Mississippi's
Freedom Democratic Party sat outside the convention hall.
On their signs were drawings of Schwerner, Cheney and Goodman,
the three workers killed in Mississippi earlier in the summer,
and such slogans as "Help Produce Democracy," "One
Man, One Vote," and "Seat the Freedom Delegates."

The FDP brought this car to Atlantic City
to show the delegates and press at the Democratic Convention
how Mississippi blacks were treated when they tried to register
to vote.